What Kind of Genius Are You?

Daniel H. Pink of A Whole New Mind fame has a wonderful piece in Wired:

A new theory suggests that creativity comes in two distinct types - quick and dramatic, or careful and quiet … What he (David Galenson, University of Chicago) has found is that genius - whether in art or architecture or even business - is not the sole province of 17-year-old Picassos and 22-year-old Andreessens. Instead, it comes in two very different forms, embodied by two very different types of people. "Conceptual innovators," as Galenson calls them, make bold, dramatic leaps in their disciplines. They do their breakthrough work when they are young. Think Edvard Munch, Herman Melville, and Orson Welles. They make the rest of us feel like also-rans. Then there's a second character type, someone who's just as significant but trudging by comparison. Galenson calls this group "experimental innovators." Geniuses like Auguste Rodin, Mark Twain, and Alfred Hitchcock proceed by a lifetime of trial and error and thus do their important work much later in their careers. Galenson maintains that this duality - conceptualists are from Mars, experimentalists are from Venus - is the core of the creative process. And it applies to virtually every field of intellectual endeavor, from painters and poets to economists.

This is a major theme in my book Advertising to Baby Boomers. And I've found that the most popular segment of my presentations is 'a brief history of advertising' where I talk about the ages of some of the top creatives (Rosser Reeves, David Ogilvy, Leo Burnett, Bill Bernbach) and how they fashioned their most successful campaigns in their 40s, 50s, and 60s.

While sniffing around Dan Pink's web site and blog, I found this:

"Science News reports on a study that says an aging brain may be a more emotionally astute brain…"

I'll leave you with a quote from Rosser Reeves:

"No, I don't think a 68-year-old copywriter can write with the kids. That he's as creative. That he's as fresh. But he may be a better surgeon. His ad may not be quite as fresh and glowing as the Madison Ave. fraternity would like to see it be, and yet he might write an ad that will produce five times the sales. And that's the name of the game, isn't it?"

50+ Marketing DVD

Evergreen Marketing (Australia, New Zealand) has produced a sterling DVD titled Marketing to the 50+ Market:

Marketing to the 50+ Market contains revealing insights into:

• Generational Marketing
  
• Myths about brand loyalty and the older consumer
  
• Understanding the spending power of the 50+
  
• Advertising and online channels for an older audience

I've watched the DVD twice. Gill Walker does a thorough job walking us through the basic concepts and necessities. It's a presentation that would benefit any company with products and/or services for Baby Boomers. If screened to a group, be prepared for it to ignite wise discussion.

My take is that 85-90% of what Gill says applies here in the States. Dick Stroud in England certainly thinks it's a valuable tool:

“…Gill Walker really does understand 50+ marketing. What is more she knows how to translate the marketing theory into marketing practice. I really enjoyed the DVD…” — Dick Stroud

For me, the Australian TV commercials Gill picked were a kick—the good ones and the bad ones.

Information about ordering the Marketing to the 50+ Market DVD.

Aging In Place

The second article about Baby Boomers and adult communities is scheduled for publication soon on The Mature Market site.

For readers of this blog, I'm tossing up a sneak peek PDF of the article, Aging In Place:

My NAHB presentation had a large section dedicated to the 'problem' of aging in place. It's a problem, of course, for AACs. How do you convince Baby Boomers to consider your offerings - whether your community is across the country or across town?

An earlier posting with a link to the first article: Selling Universal Design To Baby Boomers.

SportsBusiness Journal's Bill King: Trying To Catch The Wave

SportsBusiness Journal's Bill King penned the trade magazine's feature report this week - and it's all about Baby Boomers:

Trying To Catch The Wave

"In the past, marketers have thought of age 50 the way the explorers used to think of the horizon: Sail beyond it and you tumble from the face of the earth. Older consumers were seen as set in their ways. Since they wouldn't change brands or try new ones, there was no point in spending money advertising to them."

Because I'm quoted in the article, SportsBusiness Journal has permitted this blog to link to Bill King's In-Depth Report. (In other words, feel special. You have to be a subscriber to get to it any other way.)

And it's overflowing with valuable marketing data. Check out all the research at the end. Here's my favorite.

Back to the beginning of the article — Spyder Wright also revealed this in his email to me:

"I was the East Coast Champion in 1979 & 1980 and went on to be a finalist in the U.S. Surfing Championships in Hawaii during those same years."

Still out there banging around in the waves at age 62. Amazing.

Book Review in The Journal of Consumer Marketing

Dr. Joyce M. Wolburg, Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research at The J. William and Mary Diederich College of Communication (Marquette University), has written a review of my book Advertising to Baby Boomers in the latest issue of The Journal of Consumer Marketing.

JCM is only available to subscribers, so all I can do here is pull some quotes:

"Advertising to Baby Boomers is an easy, informative read that will resonate well with Boomers and will give non-Boomers some useful insights when advertising to this important market. As a member of the generation myself, I now know why so many advertisements leave me cold (e.g. either I do not understand the humor or I don't care enough to work at deciphering the advertisement). I thought it was just me, but after reading Advertising to Baby Boomers, I now put the blame squarely where it belongs…"

"The second section (of the book) addresses the process of finding the best marketing or advertising agency. It identifies the myths that traditional ad agencies hold regarding Boomers and advises business owners who want to sell to this group to walk away from agencies that think this way."

"The third and last section offers resources, a case study, and final thoughts. He sharpens some of his earlier points and cautions readers that some of the recent buzzwords in advertising, such as branding, are not all that they are cracked up to be."

Much thanks to Dr. Wolburg and The Journal of Consumer Marketing.